Embracing the cold
by Ghostlingx
Summary: Tsurara's feelings for Rikou have been constantly growing. Unfortunately, it was revealed that Tsurara's fate lies else where. She now struggles to live on as she once had, but is driven in a different direction by what she truly is. Will she succumb to her fate, or will she continue in her life as Rikou's lover? Be sure to review! I might not update much though :/
1. Wrath of Fuyu intro

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Nurahyon no mago.

**This is a RikuoxTsurara story! Well... mostly.  
**

**INTRO CHAPTER**

Five thousand years ago, the land was ruled by the four gods: Haru the goddess of bloom, Natsu the god of fire, Aki the god of decay, and lastly Fuyu the goddess of the frozen. The world was a peaceful and balanced, for each god ruled over their own season with pride and power. Both humans and Youkai lived aside each other harmoniously. Unfortunately, the peace and balance was short-lived and was broken by the jealousy of a single god.

Out of the four gods, Fuyu was considered the most powerful and divine god of the four, for she had the most impact on the civilization. She was rumored to be deadly, but as beautiful as virgin snow. She was normally described as a goddess with a cold heart and a hard glare. Although Fuyu was beautiful, she was not devoted to flirting with humans and yokai. Even if she was not as flirtatious as the other gods, she still did love someone. His name was Yūsaku Takasu. Yūsaku was a kind man whom devoted himself to only praying to Fuyu.(Which attracted her attention) Because of his devotion to Fuyu, the other three gods started to grew a disliking towards him. The three gods wanted to kill him, but Fuyu saved him by spiriting him away to somewhere safe. After three years, Fuyu secretly gave birth to the Yuki onna. After a thousand years, Aki found out about Fuyu's children. Because Aki was not able to bear any children, he quickly became jealous of Fuyu and slaughtered all of her children, but one. Aki then brought their corpses to Fuyu's temple as a mocking sacrifice. Fuyu gladly accepted the sacrifices(not knowing that they were all Yuki onna.) and gave Aki a gift in return, a scarf. The scarf protected it's wearer from the cold embrace of winter.(Tsurara's scarf) When Fuyu was finally told that the sacrifices were yuki onnas, she went mad.

Fuyu went on a rampage for sixty-three days, enveloping the world in her frozen grasp killing nearly everyone. The fact that it was winter(the season where she was at her peak in power), only made it worse. There was almost no resistance against the sheer coldness of the temperature, no shelters could save them, no fires could be born, the people's warm clothing had no effect, for their blood would freeze within them. The three gods were not able to subside her wrath, and were defeated by the frozen goddess easily. They were desperate to stop her. After Aki's countless attempts to apologize, Haru's reasoning s, and Natsu's begging, they finally gave up. They had no choice but to seal her away into the icy abyss, to be reborn into a vessel four thousand years later.

:/ Really bad intro... this is NOT my best piece of writing I have done. Although it is my first Fanfiction. :P Plz review! Meh turned out a bit sloppy. :P

Sorry for those who didn't receive the story! It wouldn't update for some reason. :/


	2. Frozen feelings

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Nurahyon no mago

Sorry about the short intro :/ I was to lazy to put much effort into it. :P

Not sure how to start this story, so i might be inconsistent with how i will present my story. My apologies,

_Italics _ are thoughts of the current character that is been focused on.

* * *

One year after the Nue's defeat...

A casual day... walking home by herself, accompanied by the thoughts of Rikuo in her head. She gladly accepted the chilling breezes of Aki which occasionally interrupted her thoughts. For Tsurara, most of her days turned out like this. A peaceful walk towards the household, with a smile and a red, warm,and pleasant blush from the thoughts of capturing Rikuo's heart. The gentle rustle of the swaying leaves and the whispers of the awakening winds brushing against her blue and black hair. It was truly a peaceful day, yet one that was also filled with emotions and thoughts.

Tsurara sighed, allowing the calm atmosphere to take control of her feelings. She giggled once again at the thoughts of Rikuo, feeling more and more giddy every time she thought of that handsome and strong Yokai. She brushed her hair back and sighed, knowing that Rikuo's heart lied else where.

_"That damned Kana... Sometimes I feel like freezing her to death." _Tsurara thought to herself with a smug expression. _"Same applies to master... always speaking with that Ienaga-san. He really doesn't get Kana's feelings for him, yet he still encourages the thought of their relationship. If only he knew a woman's heart better... maybe I would have a chance with him..."_

A sudden movement from the bushes to her right caught her awareness, she froze, momentarily surprised, and braced herself. She stood there for a few moments, but nothing happened.

_"It must have just been my imagination... Maybe next time I shouldn't work for so long." _Tsurara told herself, trying to convince herself, but she still couldn't sake the feeling that she was being watched by a pair of spiteful eyes. A gentle hand grasped her shoulder. She spun around to face the newcomer, and exhaled in relief at the sight of Rikuo.

"Oi... all alone at night? Its dangerous at this part of the time. You really need to be more careful, or we might not be able to protect you..."

_"We? ... wait, somethings not right here..." _Tsurara thought in her head, backing away from Rikuo. "Rikuo... what do you mean by we? Did someone else come with you?"

"No... no one else came with me, I'm all by myself." replied Rikuo, smirking in a very UnRikuo-like way. "Oh, by the way... You're extremely gullible."

By the time Tsurara noticed that it wasn't Rikuo, it was too late. The fake made one thrusting motion with his fist, into her exposed side and ripped at her flesh. Tsurara's side exploded with excruciating pain. She collapsed to her knees, while holding her bloodied side. The fake knelt down beside her, brushed away the stray hairs in front of her face and gently ran a finger down her cheek. He then took out a knife and slowly drew it across her body.

"Oh my... you are quite a weak one aren't you? To be chosen by her... It's almost unthinkable... I wonder... what the crazy bitch is thinking... Good thing I pitied you, otherwise you would be dead... Hey! at least you have a beautiful face!" laughed the fake. "Oh yeah, my apologies, I forgot to name myself. My name is ensuikei no Katchi. Well... my times up. See you!" With those words, Ensuikei walked away, leaving Tsurara half conscious and bloodied on the side walk.

9 hours later

Tsurara woke up wondering where she was. As she tried to sit up, but was stopped by a terrorizing pain that came from her side. Dark splotches appeared in her vision, as she lay done once more from the dizziness and pain.

"Huh? Is that Oikawa-san?" called a distant voice, accompanied by the sound of shoes hitting the ground at the pace of a run."Oh my god... what happened? S-s-she's all bloodied... quick, Torri, call the- ... oh yeah... no... run over to Rikuo's house! Were pretty near, so we can probably get some help from there!"

Tsurara opened her eyes in relief to find Maki standing over her. The last thoughts in her head, before the black splotches filled her vision, were Rikuo and weakness.

* * *

"Rikuo! Get up!"

"Ehhh? Tsurara why so early?" asked Rikuo without opening his eyes.

"Rikuo! I said get up! I'm not Tsurara! Tsurara is lying on a tatami wounded badly this very moment!"

"Wh-wha? Oh... sorry Kejorou... wait... did you just say that Tsurara is lying dead on a tatami?" asked Rikuo in a panicked expression, waking up instantly.

"No, she's not dead... but she might if Zen doesn't arrive soon enough!" yelled Kejorou, pulling Rikuo up, out of his Tatami.

Rikou rushed towards Tsurara's room in a panic, the scent of blood filled the air as he ran towards the room. When he entered the room, accompanied by Kejorou, he nearly screamed at the horrific sight. Tsurara lay on a tatami, bloodied to the point where the bandages were entirely stained with crimson blood. Her hair scattered and blood-stained, her Kimono was to the point where it lay in rags, and to accompany that, the sight of a trail of blood leading towards the tatami, where she lay.

" Wh-wha-how? How did this happen! What the hell happened to her!" yelled Rikuo with a horrified face.

"Oh... Rikuo... we were going to the shopping mall when we came across Tsurara... she lay there bloodied and unconscious, so we ran over to your house for help!" answered Maki in a panicked tone.

_"Goddammit... Damn it! I should have accompanied her home from the market..." _He thought in frustration _"I could've protected her at least... it wouldn't have turned out like this... Please... Tsurara... live on for me..."_

"Oi! Rikuo-sama! Your Grandpa wants to speak with you!" yelled Kubinashi from another room.

"Tell him to wait one moment!" Rikuo yelled back, wiping his tears with his sleeves.

"Rikuo-sama! He says it's urgent, and it's about Tsurara! Just go!"

Rikuo got up at the sound of her name and rushed over to find his grandfather. He greeted his grandfather and sat down in front of him. Nurarihyon stayed silent for a while, before puffing out a bit of smoke from his pipe and speaking.

"Oi Rikuo... I know its hard for you, but you got to stay strong for the sake of the clan. If the rest of the clans see you in this state, they will think you weak once more. You do know that this kind of thing, having a trusted aide of yours be attacked in your own territory, will spread fast. And if they see you in this state, they will think lowly of us... This is a situation that we need to tread carefully on." said the former supreme commander, pausing once more for a puff of smoke. "Keep an eye out for her... she won't die from this, don't worry, but if the legends are true... then you better protect her with your life... or were all screwed." saying the last words with a laugh.

"Hey, have a little respect! Why are you laughing at the fact that we might be screwed over by some random thing? Oh... and what do you mean by legend? replied Rikou in an angry tone.

Nurarihyon puffed once more, and explained the legend(the first intro chapter thingy) "So in four thousand years, Fuyu will be awakened in a new vessel, and if this legend is true... then she will awaken in a vessel this year at first snowfall... Were in a pretty dire situation now :3 Fufufu. Since we have two weeks of Fall left, and we have made no preparations what so ever."

"Sooo... you're saying that we have to prepare and find this goddess?" asked Rikuo, stupidly.

"Goddammit! You can really still be a dip-shit sometimes! I'm suggesting that Tsurara is the chosen vessel! I mean, why would some random stranger want to attack Tsurara so suddenly? They most likely knew that she was the chosen vessel. Ahhh... this is really bad Rikuo... we're getting involved with godly affairs."

"Ehh... I don't think Tsurara is the vessel Grandpa. I mean... she's really weak for a goddess if she is... and... yeah."

Nurarihyon slapped his son in disgust "You are truly a greedy bastard aren't you... only thinking about her love... not caring for her fate... Rikuo, you still have quite a while to go to become a great Hyakki commander." With that being said, he kicked out Rikuo with his short stubby leg and sat down once again to meditate.

"Oi! That was rude you old man!"

* * *

:3 I hope you enjoyed this chapter :/ I will update every once in a while :P don't rush me!

Please Review and follow! :3

Thanks

Please forgive my fail update once again...

PS I updated it and fixed the names! I'll try not to mess up those names again!


	3. Chilling winds

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Nurahyon no mago

Thanks for everyone's support so far!  
I feel like an absolute fail, spelling Rikuo's name wrong in the last chapter! Thanks for telling me!  
Hope you have enjoyed reading the story so far!  
I will keep on updating it! At least 1 time a week in the summer. Woot! :3 (Probably, if I'm not too busy being a total gamer) :/  
_Italics are thoughts!_  
To avoid confusion later:Tsurara was inside of Fuyu's memories.

* * *

Flashback! The day Tsurara was born.

Setsura gingerly entered the frosty, mist-shrouded cave, hugging her precious child in her arms. Step by step, she slowly proceeded deeper into the belly of the Icy abyss. The abyss consisted of many winding branches that slowly receded into the center, a perfect labyrinth of death for those that couldn't navigate well enough. The icy walls were lined with a deep, glowing,violet substance which provided dim light for those attempting to navigate it. She made her way through the many twists and turns towards the center of the maze. As she gradually approached the center, the deep violet linings changed to a light, vibrant red. As she rounded around the final turn, she was met by a large metallic door. The door was engraved with four symbols,春夏秋冬(The four seasons), marking itself as the birthplace of the four original gods. Entering the room, she walked up the the frozen alter in the center, and placed Tsurara on top. A steady echo of footsteps slowly got louder as the god slowly approached from behind.

"Welcome ... Setsura, we have long-awaited for your arrival. I see you have brought your first child as we agreed... Hmmm...I wonder what type of child she chose? Perhaps a weak one, or maybe one with disabilities? My sister absolutely loves to choose the weak!" cackled a raspy dark voice.

"Yes Aki, I have brought the child." replied Setsura quietly, glaring at the malevolent god for his rudeness. "

"It has been four thousand years since I last seen my sister... She must be a lot calmer now after being locked up in that altar." interrupted Aki, pointing at the alter, grinning. "Funny how the goddess of the cold needs to cool down ehhh? Hehehe... how very coincidental."

Setsura frowned at those words, murmuring a curse under her breath. She then turned her back on Aki and faced her child, ready for the ritual. Aki approached Tsurara while morphing his finger into a razor-sharp talon. He slowly and carefully slid his talon against the forehead of Tsurara, engraving the symbol of Fuyu 冬. Tsurara gave a quiet shriek of pain as Aki finished the final strokes of the character. Setsura then bit her thumb, and slowly rubbed her blood onto Tsurara's forehead covering the engraved character. Lovingly, Setsura gave her child a last kiss before departing and leaving her to the god of decay.

"Mmmmm... greetings my lovely sister, for you have returned to this world. Unfortunately for you... this time I'm pulling the strings..."

* * *

Three days after the attack

Tsurara slowly opened her left eye, expecting to see a bland ceiling, only to see the, open, cloud-filled, sky above her. She opened her eyes in realization; she somehow knew where she was. The Archive of Rebirth, four thousand years into the past. Her body moved at its own will, not allowing Tsurara to control her own movements. She took a deep breath, and reached for the sky with an open palm. A small wisp of black receded into her palm forming an broken and rusted key, with a dark tint to it. She slowly twisted the key towards the sky, as if it were a door, and slid the key out of the air once again. The folds of the sky parted leaving a part of oblivion uncovered, releasing Yūsaku from his hiding place.

"Fuyu... wh-why? Why did you save me? You... saved me... even after I betrayed you..."

"I find my truth in a hope of doubt... We are nothing but actors to a quiet drama right now... I found what is important to me, something to strive for... something to love... I can't just let you go like that." sighed Tsurara, sitting up. "Even after what you did... I will still love you no matter what. Some things... are just worth fighting for." The words came out of Tsurara, as if she couldn't control herself. She desperately tried to fight against herself, attempting to regain control of her own body.

Yūsaku smiled, holding his hand out towards Tsurara. "Well then... Fuyu... we'll run to where the lights won't chase us, we'll hide where love can save us... Fuyu... I promise, I'll never leave your side..."

Tsurara's hand slowly accepted Yūsaku's hand. She felt tears rolling down her cheeks and lifted her hand to wipe them on instinct. Tsurara suddenly felt a sensation, as if she was being merged into one with the goddess. Yūsaku pulled her up and held her there in his loving embrace. She lay her head restfully on his shoulder, allowing herself to succumb to his gentle grasp.

"I...I promise too... Yūsaku..." exhaled Tsurara, smiling and slowly closed her eyes. "I... love you."

Yūsaku exclaimed in surprise as Fuyu collapsed into his hands, forcing him to carry her. She simply smiled and gave off a quiet giggle, resting her head against Yūsaku.

"Oi!...F-Fuyu!... I've never seen you so... relaxed before..." exclaimed Yūsaku, holding Tsurara in his hands.

"Mmmm... Yūsaku... Sometimes I wish that being a god was a lot simpler... You may think that Gods and goddesses are almighty and powerful, but in truth... they are powerless when it comes to emotions."

"Your saying that... you dislike being a goddess?" asked Yūsaku in surprise.

"No Yūsaku... Its really hard to explain... maybe I'll tell you next time, when I collect my thoughts about this."

"Fuyu... wait... I hear something! Get down!" kneeling behind a bookshelf and letting Tsurara down.

Her eyes snapped open instantly, forming an sleek, icy scythe in her hands. She scanned the area, changing her aura into a hostile, cold, and overpowering radiance. Glaring at every little thing that caught her attention, a single shadow stood out, amongst the eye catchers. A lean shadow. Tsurara felt her body slowly turn to ice, as her spirit rushed behind the stranger. She formed once again, leaving the razor-sharp blade at his throat. Two more strangers revealed themselves, as she loosened her grip on the scythe. The first was a slender woman with curly green hair, bright brown orbs, a soft face, with her left arm wrapped with rose vines. The other intruder was a healthy man, with spiky red hair, burning red eyes, and a horizontal black burnt-in scar(in the shape of curly flames) that pierced his left eye.

"Ahhh! I'm so scared sister! Please don't kill me... Oh, and before you slit my throat... You should check on your lover!" Aki said sarcastically, winking at her. "Don't you remember who your even protecting? Oh well... at least he'll die if I die... Hehehe, stupid sister... always rushing into things."

"Oi! Aki! Shut up! We came here to kill Yūsaku, not to harass little sis... Honestly Aki... you are one of the most annoying brats I have ever met." sighed Natsu, sitting on a nearby pile of books with a bored expression, playing around with a pebble and instantly incinerating it. "Yo! Sister... if you don't maim Aki, I'll give Yūsaku a quick and honorable death... Deal sis?"

Yūsaku turned around, sprinting for the portal to the human realm.

"Eh! Boy! Where you running? Away to the human realm? Humph! How foolish, you do know that you won't make it that far." questioned Haru, holding her left palm out, entangling Yūsaku with a flurry of flowers. "Pfft.. you really don't look that good with all those flowers... It just doesn't fit you... Hmmm... how about this?" pointing at him once again transitioning the flowers into bamboo.

Yūsaku clenched his fist around his sword in humiliation, attempting to cut through the bamboo with his katana without any success. He gave off a inhumane laugh, somehow able to cut through the wads bamboo finally. He cocked his head towards Haru, giving her an insane-looking grin. "As Fuyu said... it is time to end this quiet act... Haru. Looks like you looked at me in the wrong way... or maybe your to stupid to realize the truth. My fate is bound to something else... because I have read my fate... I know I won't die here." laughing hysterically once again.

"H-how did... you know my name? Fuyu! Did you tell him my name without permission! I hate you sometimes little sister, I really do." demanded Haru, flaring up her eyes.

"N-no... I didn't tell Yūsaku... Yūsaku... wha-what are you doing? Run! You won't make it alive facing against three gods. Even with my help! You will only become a burden in this battle!" Yelled Tsurara, tugging at Yūsaku's sleeve with a worried expression.

"Ouch... Fuyu! You should really watch what your saying. Thinking me all useless eh? Well... no... I've stayed hidden for way too long Fuyu... Although I love you... I have to decline the invitation to flee. Fleeing in front of the ones you love, is only another way to show yourself as a helpless coward. I'm tired of being that Fuyu... I want to become useful to you." ezpressed Yūsaku, reverting his expression to normal and hugging Tsurara. "Shhhh... Don't say a word... keep calm and remain silent..." Yūsaku whispered. "I have a little trick up my sleeve." Yūsaku winked and stayed motionless.

"Enough talk! Aki... go ahead and kill. Have fun. Oh, and make sure Fuyu doesn't get hurt... the last thing we need is a goddess of death roaming around." commanded Natsu while yawning, "I really need more time resting... I've been searching for that... thing for eight months in a row. Well... see you Aki and Haru! Give my regards to Fuyu when she comes to her senses."

Aki cackled, advancing towards the couple. "Yo! Yūsaku, you do know that's a bad idea right? If I attack you, I'm going to have to use something indirect... otherwise I'll end up killing Fuyu too..." Joked Aki, slowly dragging out a wickedly large blade from the ground. The ground rippled at the immense power of the blade, as it was finally taken out of the ground of the archive. "Sooo... I wonder how godly this blade will be, after I channeled eight months of my energy into this one blade... Hmmm... I'll name it Yūsaku's bane for the sake of it too!" boasted Aki, cackling at his own comment. A sudden cloud of dust, signaled Aki's attack. Aki swung the giant weapon, with a single hand, but was deflected by shell of ice by an inch away.

"See? I told you I had something up my sleeve... Trust... I trusted you to save me..." Yūsaku whispered, curling Fuyu's long hair around his finger. "I knew you would deflect it at the last second, that's the kind of person you are... The kind that doesn't take any risks. And If I do die... at least, I will have died by your side... This time though... seriously,just don't move... let me handle this..."

"B-But... H-How in the heck do you expect to defeat a god? yelled Tsurara, glaring at Yūsaku.

"I told you Fuyu... just don't move... Trust me, and release that shell of yours..." Yūsaku, continued to embrace her, as the couple were exposed, by the melting ice.

"Silly little sister, always getting in the way, always ruining my fun..." sighed Aki. Once again, he charged at them, slicing his blade towards them in a deathly arc. This time, the blade met its mark.

"Yūsaku!" Tsurara screamed. Her mind went through sudden confusion of why every thing went black. She popped her eyes open realizing that she was in the normal world once again. Her eyes met with a crowd of yokai standing over her, staring at her with worried eyes.

"Wait... who's this Yūsaku? Are you alright?"

"WHAAAHHH! RIKUO-SAMA!" finally meeting Rikuo's eyes. her cheeks puffing red in embarrassment. "Wha-why is everyone staring at me? What did I do?" She sat up on her tatami,and stared back at everyone. Everyone to gasp, and gently pushed her back down. "Ehh... what in the world is going on! Why is everyone crowded around me looking at me as if I were dying?"

"Tsurara, a-are you sure you should get up with those wounds? I don't think that's a good idea..."suggested Rikuo, looking worriedly at her...

"Huh? Wahh! My wounds? I entirely forgot about them." feeling the gash on her waist. She felt nothing but a bloody and dried bandage. "I-I don't feel any pain anymore..." Slowly peeling off the bandage, revealing the healed wound. The room went silent and everyone stopped what they were doing; everyone was dumb-struck.

"Tsurara! H-how did you heal that wound so fast!... It only took you three days. That's even faster than Rikuo's recovery!" exclaimed Kubinashi, holding out his hand to help Tsurara up. "Oh... and I think I should give you an explanation of why everyone is staring at you. About ten minutes ago you started screaming about weird things, and thrashing about, and freezing up the whole room. So we rushed over and held you down while you thrashed about violently." he explained.

"Eh? I..." Looking at the room around her, entirely ruined by shards of ice. "EEEEEK! What did I do to the room!" Her eyes opened wide at the destruction she caused. "AHHH! Rikuo-sama! I apologize!

"T-Tsurara, my grandfather wants to see you by the way!" said Rikuo, investigating what was left of the room. "Wow... you did a fine job decorating the place, with ice." complimented Rikuo in a blank expression.

Tsurara, got up and walked towards Nurarihyon's room. As she exited the room she noticed how much attention she actually grasped. Yokai standing in front of her quickly moved out of the way, making her feel as if she was being treated like a captive demon amongst angels. A sudden pang of sadness hit her chest, clenching her fist, tears slipping from her eyes. She knew that something big was going to happen and that she was bound for change. She braced herself for harsh words, as she entered Nurarihyon's room.

"Hmph! Oi, Fuyu! How are you doing?" asked Nurarihyon as she stepped ito the room. "Or is Tsurara, still in control?"

_"Mmmm... that old man? Tell him to shut up for me Tsurara." _inquired the goddess.

_"Wait! Why. How are you in my head? Get out!"_ Tsurara argued with herself. _" Are you Fuyu? The one I was inside of in my dream?"_

_"Yes... you invaded my memories in your sleep... Now go tell the old man to shut it. I'm in no mood to speak with him right now, after having my memories invaded by someone..."_

"Umm... Sorry Nurarihyon-sama... I... she doesn't want to speak with you right now..."

"Peh? Only a quarter-merge? Wow... young Tsurara, you are a lucky one." said Nurarihyon with a slight chuckle. "Well... if that's the case... I now have to explain what's happening." He drew in a long breath from the pipe and explained the situation. " When you were born, your mother brought you to the birth place of gods to become the chosen vessel of Fuyu, whom was sealed away for four thousand years. Fortunately for you, Fuyu was kind enough to only take away a quarter of your spirit way. Hue hue hue, she was probably to lazy to kill you off."

_"Ha! He got some facts wrong! I was actually forced into my chosen vessel, making the task incomplete... That damn Aki... foretelling that, you would be my chosen vessel, and warning your mother. So now... I'm stuck in you, not able to totally posses you. Tell the old geezer to shut up now."_

" I-I don't see why your so happy about the fact that she was probably to lazy to kill me off... Oh and she told you to shut up" Tsurara blurted out. "Wha-Wha? No! I-I mean I didn't mean that!" covering her mouth and flushing in embarrassment.

Nurarihyon only laughed at the comment. "Fufufufu... I find old friends so funny sometimes... Anyways... Tsurara... I'm really sorry that I was not able to prevent this from happening. I'm really just a hopeless old man when it comes to these matters. The only way I can help is to send you to Tono for training. So, I'll send you there soon."

Tsurara nodded in respect, and left the room with a sigh. Walking outside felt awful, everyone seemed to stare at her with scared eyes. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, for she had never been treated this way. She knew that everything in her life was about to change.

"Hey Tsurara! Are you alright?" asked Rikuo, with a worried expression, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Tsurara nodded slightly, and shrugged Rikuo's hand off her shoulder, for she couldn't bear it any longer. "Sorry... Rikuo... I just..."

"Don't worry Tsurara... everything will be alright..." said Rikuo reassuringly, hugging her. "I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise."

Part of Tsurara wanted to believe those words, but she could not find herself to believe what he said. "Rikuo... I-I'm sorry... for causing all of this trouble" she stuttered. "I just wish that... life would continue the way it has been after we defeated the Nue."

Tsurara walked off, with her head hanging low. She walked back to her ruined room, and lay there crying, waiting for some miracle to happen.

* * *

Sorry... I didn't really put much effort into the boring end so Please forgive me XD.

Thank you for coming all the way here with me XD Please follow and review!

I was going to end it with a killer cliffhanger, but... oh well... I'll be nice... But! I swear! I will destroy you all with a massive one next time!.

Sorry for the OOC I didn't really gave much attention to the characters personalities when I read the book.


	4. The Sakura reveals herself

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Nurahyon no mago

Thanks for everyone's support so far!  
I feel like an absolute fail, spelling Rikuo's name wrong in the last chapter! Thanks for telling me!  
Hope you have enjoyed reading the story so far!  
I will keep on updating it! At least 1 time a week in the summer. Woot! :3 (Probably, if I'm not too busy being a total gamer) :/  
_Italics are thoughts!_

* * *

After school in the Paranormal Patrol

Rikuo slowly walked into the room greeting everyone with a wave of his hand, and a cheery expression.

"Hey! Rikuo... um.. do you know when Oikawa-san will be coming back?" asked Shima, giving his intention away way too easily.

"Shima... You should know better, there are probably hundreds of people out there that she knows that look better than you." sighed Maki, lying across her desk with a bored expression.

"Actually Shima, she's coming today." replied Rikuo, "She told me yesterday." scratching his head. He then went to a seat next to Kana and sat down.

"Soo... she's coming back today?" asked Kana, with a unhappy expression. "Speaking of coming back... I wish Yura-chan would come back... I haven't seen her in ages."

"Coming back today? H-how? I thought she was badly wounded!" exclaimed Maki, sitting up straight immediately.

"Oikawa-san was hurt? By who? I'll definitely avenger her, by beating up the bully who did it to her!" yelled Shima with a determined face.

"Ummm... Shima, you seemed to have forgot that she's a yokai, meaning she should be fully capable defending herself from humans. So it was most likely a Yokai who harmed her." reasoned Kiyotsugu.

Shima shied back at the comment, looking less certain, but still able to say "I-It doesn't matter! I'll definitely avenger her!" Balling his fist, he sat down in a desk near the entrance to the room to await for Tsurara's arrival.

Tsurara entered the room, without a glance towards anyone and took a seat in a desk by the corner of the room. She put her head down on the desk, and lay there with a blank expression. " Hi." With a sigh, she buried her face in her arms, lying there as if she was asleep.

Everyone, including Kana, was taken aback by the extremely unTsurara-like entrance.

"R-Rikuo... what happened to her? She seems... so depressed." whispered Kana with a worried expression. "Tell me every detail about it please..."

"Ahhh? A volunteer for a story? Rikuo! I'm sure that we would all like to hear the story of what happened to Oikawa-san her!" encouraged Kiyotsugu, pointing a ruler a Rikuo.

"Shut up." said Tsurara, lifting her head an inch so that Kiyotsugu could have a taste of her glare. "If you really want to find out... then ask Rikuo to tell you outside."

Kiyotsugu flinched at her deathly cold stare. "Oh... I'm sorry Oikawa-san! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings! Well then, Rikuo lets go outside! To the roof team!"

Everyone went to the roof to hear about the news,(including Maki and Torii who already knew.) leaving Tsurara alone in the room.

Tsurara smiled at the peace, feeling suspiciously happy at their departure. She formed a small icicle and used it to slit her thumb. With the blood she had released, she instinctively froze it into the shape of a heart. The heart was small, thin, and fragile looking with a crimson tint to it, making it translucent. Satisfied with the outcome she grabbed the icicle and violently smashed it against the heart, managing only a scratch on it. "Why me..." She asked herself, picking up the heart and slowly started morphing it into a razor-sharp dagger. Not knowing what to do with the finished product, she slipped it up her sleeve, bounding it there with some pure ice. After concealing the weapon, she got up and headed up to the roof to where the others were.

Meanwhile...

" Wait! So... Oikawa-san was attacked by a shape-shifting Yokai? I never knew that there were such things as exact replica yokai!" commented Shima after Rikuo finished explaining the story.

"According to my research," said Kiyotsugu, lifting up his laptop, allowing everyone to see." There is only one clan of Yokai who can turn into an exact replica of another thing. The Katchi clan! It's located in a forest near Kyoto!It's a long weekend too! Guy... do you know what this stands for?" dancing in happiness of a great idea.

"What is it?" inquired Shima, looking interested in Kiyotsugu's idea.

"Please... not another yokai investigation..." complained Maki. " I really don't want any more of this yokai hunting business."

"Ha! You guessed wrong! We're going on a field trip to Kyoto! Hmmm... I also heard that there's a annual night market held there in three more days... It would be a shame to miss out." said Kiyotsugu, attempting to make them want to go.

"A night market? I haven't been to one in ages!" exclaimed Kana, "I'm sure Rikuo will go to!" hugging onto his arm.

"Uhhh... I-I don't think its a good idea to go... I think I'll skip it this time..." laughed Rikuo, uncertainly scratching his head. "I honestly don't think it's a good idea."

Maki and Torii stood there for a while, considering the idea and nodded. "Yes, we both want to go." answered Maki. "We'll only go to the night market, nowhere else though."

Soon enough, they were greeted by a dark-looking Tsurara. "What were you guy talking about?" sighed Tsurara, taking a seat on the ground, staring mindlessly at a shouting pair of kids fighting on the school grounds beneath them.

"Oh! Oikawa-san! We were just talking about another field trip! Everyone one has agreed to go, so will you go with me? I-I mean with us!" replied Shima, cowering in embarrassment.

"Shima... haven't we told you already?... Your cause for her is never going to be successful. Shima... you can really be an idiot sometimes." retorted Torii, defying her usually quite personality. "You really ought to stop..."

"Wait... a field trip? To where?" asked Tsurara nonchalantly, her gaze leaving the fighting pair. She fixated her stare onto Kiyotsugu, and asked again louder. "I asked... where are we going."

"Ha! That's the spirit Oikawa! We're going on a yokai expedition to Kyoto! Even better? We will be visiting an annual night market festival!" replied Kiyotsugu, in an excited tone. "We'll also be visiting the area where those horrible yokai that attacked you lurk! The Katchi clan lair! Its called... the Akuma's Sentō(Devil's spire). Doesn't it sound intriguing?" exclaimed Kiyotsugu.

Tsurara, stood there, not knowing what to say. She couldn't say no to going, because it would put them in danger, but she didn't want to say yes to it either. She continued to stand there and stared back at everyone, and finally answered. "I...I...I think...I'll go... Fine... I'll go." Unable to think of anything else to say, she turned and stalked off without returning a single glance at them.

"What was that all about?" asked Kana, "I bet she's scared." giggling to herself.(Sorry for this evil Kana moment, just had to add it)

"Umm... yeah, you guys can hang around here, I better go ask Tsurara what's wrong." stammered Rikuo, knowing exactly why Tsurara had reacted that way.

_"They really can be quite thoughtless sometimes." _thought Rikuo, hurriedly rushing down the stairs in attempt to catch up to Tsurara. _"Maybe... I shouldn't have had told them about it." _

Tsurara stopped at the sound of Rikuo's voice. "Wait up!" cried Rikuo, panting beside her. "You know that you don't have to go if you don't want to."

"I-It doesn't matter... If I don't go with you, I won't be able to pro-"

"Tsurara! How many times have I told you? You don't have to protect me anymore, you only need to lend me your strength." interrupted Rikuo.

Tsurara shuddered at the thought of having herself become useless to him once again.(Well at least that's what she thinks) "I... I don't know anymore! Please just leave me be." sighed Tsurara, continuing her walk towards her part-time job.

Rikuo stood there and watched, as his closest aide drifted away from him. He felt guilty.

* * *

Later

Tsurara waved her last good-byes to her friends at the market and walked off , back towards the household. She tried to enjoy the walk back with warm feelings, but was only met with unwanted memories of the day where she was ambushed on. Her awareness was at its peak, looking out for any signs of another ambush. A sudden hand gently grasped her shoulder, she turned around and saw Rikuo standing beside her with an umbrella in his hand. Her memories flooded her mind and she panicked, revealing the dagger from her sleeve, and slashing it at him.

"Oi! Tsurara! What are you doing? I only came here to escort you back today." said the handsome yokai, catching Tsurara's wrist before she could manage to cut him.

"I-I won't fall for that trick again!" cried Tsurara, attempting to loosen herself from Rikuo's grasp.

"Tsurara... I'm not one of those Katchi clan guys... It's actually me." sighed Rikuo, attempting to reassure Tsurara.

"Prove it..." she said, as she finally managed to escape Rikuo's grip.

"How am I supposed to prove it?... Showing you my fear perhaps? " asked Rikuo, slowly disappearing from sight in wisps of black smoke. "See? I'm not a fake. Honestly Tsurara... Its good to keep your guard up, but to be suspicious of every thing is just not necessary."

Tsurara sighed in relief, and looked upwards towards the star-filled sky. "I-It's beautiful..." murmured Tsurara, attempting to calm herself. "I wish this world was filled with beauty and peace."

"Hmmm? What did you say?" asked Rikuo, looking at her for the sudden comment. Tsurara repeated herself, looking at Rikuo. Rikuo smiled. "I already have found my beauty and peace."

Tsurara blushed furiously at the comment, looking away from him. She giggled at the though, squeezing his hand tighter at the comment. "R-Rikuo-sama..." she stuttered. " I... Well..."

"Hmm? If you want to say something then spit it out."

"Well... Do you... Have I been acting strange lately?" Tsurara blurted, surprising Rikuo with the sudden question. Rikuo stood there, not knowing what to say. He didn't wan't to hurt her feelings, yet he didn't want to lie to her.

"Ye... No... I admit, you've been acting strange lately." said Rikuo, sighing. "Tsurara... you should really put that though aside for now."

Tsurara and Rikuo walked hand in hand, with an umbrella in between them. After what seemed to be forever, Tsurara soon came to realize that they weren't headed in the direction of the household. "Rikuo-sama? Where are we headed?" she asked in an quiet and tired tone, squeezing Rikuo's hand even tighter.

"You'll see when we get there." smirked Rikuo, pulling Tsurara closer. They soon came to a stop in front of a small temple-like building. The building was relatively small, it was about the size of a hut. The stone walls were entirely covered with moss, the moonlight glittered off of the wet stone, and the place had a icy aura to it. The area was largely isolated by a dense population of trees that surrounded it, with a path that led towards it.

"This is... my temple? I-I mean Fuyu's. Right? The Shrine of cold?" yawned Tsurara, sitting down on the steps of the temple. Rikuo joined her side and noded. They sat there together is silence, gazing towards the stars. Slowly, tsurara allowed her tiredness to overwhelm her. Leaning towards Rikuo, she finally fell, resting her head on Rikuo's shoulder.

"Oi! Tsurara..." exclaimed Rikuo in surprise, looking towards her, only to find a sleeping snow maiden.

* * *

Tsurara awoke, to find herself lying on the steps of the Shrine. Once again, her actions were taken over and she was helpless towards controlling her own body. The temple looked a lot more refined, thick mist surrounded area revealing only the temple, and the floor glittered with frost. She stood up and walked towards a small pond that lay beside the shrine. Peering within the reflection she saw herself. No, not herself. Within the reflection she saw the goddess. It seemed as if every part of her that was black was replaced with white. Her hair was wavy, pure white with a very faint blue at the top, her eyes were alternating faint blue and pure white orbs, her skin was pale white, and she had soft facial features. Although a deathly beautiful sight, she also gave off a penetrating feeling of deadliness which belied her looks.

She stood there for several moments gazing into the pool of water and mindlessly fiddling with the sleeve of her kimono, but was soon interrupted by a raspy voice."Mmmm... Fuyu..." The sight of a mad smile gleaming from within the mist greeted her as she turned around. She stared in disgust at her brother, but she was soon interrupted by another voice.

"Once again... it will soon turn to winter. The wind howls at the approaching cold of your glacial wrath. The sakura will soon wither and die alongside me... The signs of the ending life cycles reveal themselves. Your season is truly one to fear, yet I still can find beauty in it." A pair of lazy pools of a violent red slowly came closer to Tsurara. The speaker soon revealed herself as a young looking girl with silky, long, pink hair, and a innocent looking face. She wore a death-black dress and held a small vail in her left hand. She gave off a slight grin and slowly padded towards Tsurara, latching onto her in a hug. "Fuyu... I've missed you... why have you been so passive the last few years?" asked the girl, letting of of Tsurara.

Her eyes went wide at the comment. "I..." stuttered Fuyu, not knowing what to say. A faint drip was released from her eyes, remembering when Aki tore his blade through the one she loved. Aki laughed hysterically at the goddess's reaction, falling to the ground in laughter. The girl looked quizzically at her, attempting to read her expression of what pained her. Unable to take it anymore, Tsurara fell to her knees, and let the tears rain from her eyes.

"Wah! Fuyu! What's wrong?" asked the girl, kneeling beside her and wrapping her hands around Tsurara. "What did you do to her?" she demanded, looking at Aki with a serious expression.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah! She had a clandestine relationship with someone perhaps? And perhaps we had to kill him?" laughed Aki, getting up and sitting down on a rock nearby. "Hey! You stop looking at me... I'm not a mirror." The girl flinched at the rejoinder, and quickly returned her gaze to Tsurara.

"Fuyu... Tears are nothing but the shape of our weakness, and they won't bring any solutions. I wish you'd stop with that look of despair your giving me..." said the girl, giving Tsurara a stern look. "You know I don't pity those who show weakness. As for you..." pointing at Aki," Learn your place within this world, or perish."

Aki laughed, forming a cane within his hands. "To make me perish would be to crush a dead leaf. Pointless, useless, and boring. You know that I wouldn't stand a match against either you or Fuyu." He stood up, gave his cane a twirl, and deformed into decaying leaves. She sighed at his departure, pulling Tsurara up by her hand. A sudden hand grasped her shoulder, "Oh and why don't you become my wife? You always seem to reject me." Aki laughed, running his slender fingers through her hair.

"When will you learn? I won't stand up for your continuous attempts to flirt with me." sighed the girl, pushing the god off her back. "Sometimes, I find you really creepy."

"Oh? Why? You know that I will always love you... Why don't you become my flower? It won't be that bad..." whispered Aki, smiling and attempting to put his hand on her shoulder again, only to have her slap him.

Tsurara, got up without having the arguing gods notice and walked off walked towards the pond and forming a icy loctus within her hand. She delicately placed it onto the surface of the pond, allowing it to float. Sighing, she lay down and stared at the starry sky, wishing that he would return to her side someday. Her moments of peace were interupted by a yell. Tsurara, sat up instantly and ran towards the area of where she heard it from. Rounding around the corner, she was met with the sight of a mess of decayed sakura leaves with Aki standing in the middle, holding his cane against the girl's neck.

"Dammit you! You've gone too far this time! Slapping me like that... you bitch!" shouted Aki, covering a red splotch with his right hand. "I... I swear! I will get my revenge!... Somehow."

"Impudent as ever I see... decaying my sakura every time you touch me. I find you extremely annoying." commented the girl, pulling out a pitch-black bladed katana. "Next time you put your lay your head on my shoulder... I will show you my sakura petals. I find no interest in you. Only the dead can decay, it can not kill, you don't bring me souls." Testing her sword on a falling leaf of Aki's. She gave one last lazy smile towards Tsurara and a glare towards Aki before departing.

"You really had to ruin the visit didn't you?... Aki." sighed Tsurara, sitting on the frosty grass beneath her.

"Hahahaha! Indeed sister... I sure do know how to ruin one." whipping his cane towards Tsurara. She moved back right in time to dodge it. " I was sent here to capture you by myself, but unfortunately she had to interrupt! So a great way to get rid of her indeed!" laughed Aki, whipping his cane at her once again faster.

"Oh? Why now? Perhaps you don't know that your peak of power just passed... two hours ago?" asked Tsurara with a smile. "Oh... and I have to ask! Capture me for what? I wonder..." Tsurara walked towards Aki holding a hand out. With a sudden motion she grabbed Aki's face and formed a small sharp shard using the moisture in the air. "Have you not heard the tales of me... and how I kill my prey?" asked Tsurara, giving Aki a smile.

"Ohhh? The fake tales of where you murdered a man with a tiny shard?" asked Aki, laughing nervously. "Sooo... perhaps I'm helplessly caught within your hands, like your lover was when I killed him? Oh... I waited for this day... because this is the day I tried something out!"Suddenly, a large blade fell out of the sky, forcing Tsurara to jump back. Fuyu's memories flooded into Tsurara remembering the sword that killed him. "Surprised?! I spent the entire fall harnessing my power into this blade once more! Perhaps it ill be powerful enough to decay your ice now? Or... perhaps melt it? I should really rename it to Lover's bane!" Aki laughed hysterically, giving it a swing at the ground. The ground grass and frost was instantly turned into moist dirt. Aki swung the blade once more, but aimed for Tsurara.

She attempted to block the blade with a wall of ice, but the blade melted through the ice instantly, as if it were cutting through butter. The blade ripped through Tsurara's shoulder, making her stumble in pain. A sudden flash of pain hit her as the blade hit its mark once again, but this time tearing at the flesh of her stomach. The wounds reeked of rotting flesh. Tsurara knelt on the ground, knowing that she was rotting alive. Clutching her wounds, a sudden though hit her. She looked at her wounds, and held her hand out. Everything within the wound was rotting exept for the... blood. Instinctively, she froze the blood of hers. Sudden arcs of frozen blood sped towards Aki, peircing his chest. Aki attempted to cut off the still advancing arcs of blood, but found that the blade would not cut through the blood.

"Wha-how! This is... Impossible!" exclaimed Aki in disbelief. "I can't cut through your ice anymore!... Please! Sister! mercy!" cried Aki in pain.

"I don't give mercy to those who dare bring pain within my world... I have forgot how to give mercy. Walking towards the cowering Aki, she placed her hand on where her blood peirced him. "I will... show you pain." Tsurara, jabbed her fingers within Aki's wound, freezing his blood from within him. Slowly, his blood froze, forming crystals within every artery and vein. Aki screamed and writhed at the head splitting pain, until he was immobile for all his blood was frozen. A burning hand grabbed Tsurara, pulling her back.

"Oi! That's enough sister. We can't afford to lose him yet... for he is our brother. Give him punishment some other way Fuyu." commanded Natsu, tossing a small ball of fire to melt the blood within him. "Don't be reckless sister. Save you strength for some other time."

Tsurara glared at Aki and Natsu one last time, before walking away.

_The first snow flake drifted peacefully onto Fuyu's palm. The first sign of winter._

* * *

Tsurara slowly opened one eye to find herself in the hands of her worriedly-looking master.

"R-Rikuo-sama?"

"Don't worry... get some rest. You passed out from tiredness." sighed Rikuo with a relieved expression. "You were writhing and shouting again..."

Tsurara gently leaned her head towards Rikuo's chest, and listened to Rikuo's continuous heartbeat.

_"If only I could truly capture Rikuo's heart..."_

Oh mah god peeps! Why don't you review?! I don't care if the reviews are bad I only want honest ones. Don't be afraid to review._  
_Thanks once again to everyone especially: Dennou Writer, uzumakixhinata, FlamesOfDeath017, and KurosuChitose for their endless support.  
Don't mind my OOC BTW  
Hope you enjoyed.


	5. Confusion

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Nurahyon no mago

Thanks for everyone's support so far! Thank music too for this story, cause it got me pumped enough to write all this! :P  
Hope you have enjoyed reading the story so far!  
I will keep on updating it! At least 1 time a week in the summer. Woot! :3 (Probably, if I'm not too busy being a total gamer) :/  
**Hope you don't mind, but this chapter is a bit violent. :/**_** Soon... there will also be more violence :/ **  
Italics are thoughts!_

* * *

Aki padded into the hell within hell. He traced a sleek finger of his against the obsidian walls, the feeling carvings. He grinned crazily as usual and walked forward, brushing his long hair back. Slowly he released himself from the darkness, stepping into the dim light scarlet light that emanated from the cracks in the floor, soul essence, what he came for. He then proceeded deeper within the heart of the beast, knowing that he way one step away from what he wanted to acquire. The dim lights gradually became more powerful, as her continued down the path. He soon approached the Doorway of Destiny. He laughed at the gate that towered above him, walking towards it, he slowly decayed the metal, leaving a large hole within the doorway. Entering, Aki smiled in pleasure at the huge marble pillars that ascended endlessly towards oblivion.

"Hmmm? Who has come to graciously offer their soul to me?"

Aki looked forward to see a little girl, sitting on a crimson red throne. Within one hand she held a crystalline vial, the other held up her bored-looking face. In her lap lay a wicked scythe which easily out sized her, and a few sakura leaves scattered around her. "Oh? Don't you find it surprising that I have not come to offer you my soul?" laughed Aki. "I also find that bored posture of yours extremely unattractive."

"So you really came all the way to my domain?" giggled the girl, fixing her posture. "Did you really think that I would help you achieve your goal? What makes you think I will lend you my power?" getting up, she yawned and picked her scythe. After examining Aki's face, she looked upwards with disgust. "They call me by many names... the Grim reaper, the soul collector, death, the fallen cherry blossom, and even the messiah. In all these years... you still have no idea what I am. I can help you on your goal, but in return... you must give me something equivalent in value."

" Oh... how I rave for it. My longing for it increases, as it calls out to me. Aki! Aki! Oh how I screamed for it, but it never did come. My hunger has never subsided, it has only grown, and now... I starve for it, I crave for it. I love it... yet I still hate it. Oh how it slowly consumes me from within. I am slowly being torn apart by it as it strives to claw towards me. It has told me countless times for me to release it, to give it freedom, to let it taste revenge once more! But... in the end, it saddens me to leave everything behind... for the truth I seek is... death. I have been able to subside my pain with lust for blood... but now. I am no longer able to control myself." laughed Aki, leaning on his cane.

"Oh you poor creature... wanting to die to badly. Unfortunately... you are a god, and as long as you are known to this world as fall... You will continue to live. The only way you can die is if balance is restored again once you die... Without you, this world would become chaos, imbalanced, impure. To sacrifice yourself for him is just stupid in my opinion." sighed the goddess, twirling her long hair with a finger. "To bring him back... to revive the creator... the only one who was a challenge for me to kill off? Hah! as if I would do that!" Getting up, she walked over to Aki, giving him a hug. "Aren't you sweet? Trying to dwindle into things that even you cannot handle."

"Y-you... killed him?" asked Aki, surprised by the sudden hug from her. "You mean... you killed the creator?! You! Traitor!" yelled Aki, pushing her back. taking his walking cane and forming it into a katana, placing it by her throat.

"Oh? Nope... I didn't kill him." answered the girl with a lazy expression, pushing Aki's katana away. "You don't want to know who killed him... the truth can only be found within Fuyu. Oh... look what you've gone and done... bloodied my kimono."

"Tell me! Who killed him?! Tell me... or I will kill you." Aki shouted, planting the point of the blade into the ground dangerously close to her neck. The girl only turned her head and refused to tell him. Angered by her, Aki lifted the blade, bringing down into her face. Blood splattered across the ground as the blade slipped its way into her flesh. "No! I didn't think it would turn out this way! How was I supposed to know that you would be so helpless!?" laughed Aki, crying as his answers slipped away from him.

Her body slowly split into thin layers, soon revealing itself as bundles of Sakura leaves. "Oh? You were easily tricked? I think I overestimated your power as a god." she sighed, sitting once again on the throne with her legs crossed. "I think you better leave now... you've really overstayed your visit this time."

Aki stood up panting, regaining his balance as he got up. "You... don't you underestimate me, for I am quite an actor my self. I swear... I will bring him back! I will!" laughed Aki, tossing her a letter. "Oh... and you better read it!" He departed with a wave and a laugh, reforming his katana into a cane once again.

She gave Aki one last look with her piercing red eyes of hers, before opening his letter.

_Dear: my love_

_Upon this winding road, in the face of the crowd that bustle all around.  
Although it seems like I am chasing after the past, what I want is a place where  
the sky is alive and like home to me.  
Please to try to understand the truth,  
that this is no choice.  
And I wish you'd forgive me.  
For what I am to do.  
_

She sighed and tucked the letter away under the throne. "That fool... He doesn't know a thing does he?" With those words said, she gave out a laugh.

* * *

The day of departure

Tsurara yawned, getting up with her usual cheerful expression. She tried desperately to regain herself, to become her old self once again; but she couldn't find it within herself to become cheery, bright, and excited as she once was. She truly felt like a devil. Sighing, Tsurara got up from her tatami and walked over to the kitchen, seeking chores to do. The trip to the kitchen felt extremely long, it felt fake, and as if she were lying to everyone with a mask of fake emotions. Upon opening the door, Wakana's voice greeted her.

"Ha! I haven't seen you in a long time! Oh... and what are you doing so early up in the moring?" exclaimed Wakana happily, busy cutting vegetables.

"Wah! Wakana-sama! Um... I came to see if there was anything I could help you with!" exclaimed Tsurara.

"Oh? You haven't been helping much lately it seems? I'm sorry, but Kejoro has taken care of most of the kitchen duties for today!"

"Oh... O-okay then." sighed Tsurara, backing out of the kitchen. Turning around the corner by the exit by the kitchen, she bumped into kejoro.

"Oh! Tsurara! You really are the center of gossip this time aren't you?" giggled Kejoro, " Everyone's talking about how master brang you home, sleeping under an umbrella.

Tsurara blushed at the comment, smiling slightly. "I-It's not what you think!" Tsurara exclaimed, blushing even harder now.

"Oh? You really shouldn't be embarrassed over love!" replied Kejoro, giving Tsurara a smile. "I know it has always been your dream right? The man you love!"

_"Was this clan always so cheesy?"_ Tsurara frowned to herself. "Ehhh... Yes I do love him, but... I didn't imagine it to turn out like this..." Unexpectedly, Tsurara's eyes started to water up. "W-Wha! I-I gotta go!" she exclaimed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve, standing up, attempting to hide the tears. _"Gah! Why am i crying? I'm not sad or anything! If your crying then don't drag me with you Fuyu!" _Tsurara complained to the goddess.

The only reply Tsurara got was,_ "Run! Now!" _Tsurara pushed past Kejoro and ran. She didn't know what was happening, or why she was running, she only knew that she had to run. She had to run from two things at once. Hell and confusion. She ran towards the exit of the household, followed by the the sound of wind chimes. The soft metallic ring of the chimes rang behind her, calling out for her. A large explosion followed shortly, after Tsurara fled the building, knocking her over on to her knees. She quickly scrambled up, not daring to look back at the household's current state.

Tsurara, sprinted for what seemed like hours, but in reality was only ten minutes. She fell onto the ground, panting, and lay there until she recovered her breath. She stood up, realizing that she was at the temple of Fuyu.

_"Get up right now! Don't be late! Bring a start to winter, or else... EVERYONE WILL DIE!" _shouted the goddess, within her head. _"AHHH! Take off that scarf right now! It will interfere with the beginning of winter!" _

Tsurara obeyed, standing up, pulling off her scarf. _"Wait! What do you mean by bringing a start to winter? And why will everyon die?!" _exclaimed Tsurara.

_"Gah! didn't you see in my memories?! Just accept winter at the fist sign of snow fall!" _

Tsurara looked up, scanning the sky for a sign of snow. Sure enough, a single flake of snow. Tsurara held out her palm gingerly, catching the flake. Unlike normal snow, the flake was cold within the snow maiden's hands and did not melt. "You may begin?" Tsurara murmured, holding her breath at the strange sensation, for she had never truly felt cold.

_"Ahhh... I'm safe. Oh about the everyone will die part... I kind of over exaggerated. I just don't feel like becoming miserably weak for a full winter, it's pretty humiliating... trust me. :3"_

Tsurara remained silent, smiling at the sight of winter. "I-Its beautiful! X3" cried Tsurara, catching another flake. She released her breath with a puff of air, putting on her scarf once again. "I wish the others at the household were able to see this here..." Tsurara snapped, remembering the loud explosion behind her.

_"Hmmm? Oh! don't worry! I made those noises in your head. Fufufu! XD" _assured Fuyu.

_"Wow... you're really annoying you know... you tricked me so many times already..." _sighed Tsurara, _"Who would ever know that even goddesses act so childish..."_

_"Hey! It's alright to act like a child every once in a while! And who knew that miss Yuki onna would not know how to enjoy life... you depressed woman :3"_

Tsurara sighed, _"I guess your right... so I'll blame you from now on! XD" _With a laugh, she headed back to the household, feeling happy for the first time in a long time.

* * *

At the train station

Rikuo greeted his friends with a wave and a cheerful smile. "Hey! Sorry, I'm a bit late!" _"Gahhh... Tsurara acting all crazy lately... what a mess."_ Rikuo walked towards them, and asked, "Huh? Seems as if someone's missing..."

"Oh... Oikawa-san hasn't come yet..." commented Shima with a dull expression. "Rikuo. So she's not coming?"

"Ehehehe... I'm pretty sure she said she's coming... I didn't see her on the way though." said Rikuo, giving off an unconvincing look. _"She never told me that she was going to change her mind either..."_

"So Oikawa-san isn't coming? I thought that she said that she was going to come... Well... Thats what you said!" said Maki, leaning towards Rikuo, wagging her finger at him. "Well... She's probable not coming... with that reaction last time when we told her about it... she might be too scared or something. Also, the train is going to leave soon, its nearly seven PM, and if she doesn't get here on time she'll-"_  
_

"Hey! Sorry I'm late!" interrupted Tsurara, running towards them with a cheerful wave of her hand. She stopped by Kana's side and regained her breath,she then gave her scarf a light tug, readjusting it. "I hope none of you are mad at me for being so late."

"Hey! Oikawa-san! We thought you changed your mind and weren't coming... Well we better get on right now, before the train departs." exclaimed Kana, lifting her luggage and a boarding the train. Everyone else followed her, lugging their baggage onto the train and finding a place to sit.

Rikuo took a seat next to Kana, leaving the seat on the right for Tsurara, only to find that she had gone and sat by herself somewhere near one of the windows. Rikuo sighed, placing his elbow on the armrest and supported his head in a bored expression. He closed his eyes to rest, only to be laughed at by Kana.

"Wow! you just got on and you're already bored? You really do get bored easily don't you?" teased Kana, pushing Rikuo's elbow with her own. "I still remember this day from two years ago... I'll never forget it. I still remember how you saved me from the purple mirror yokai."

"Hmmm? oh yeah... your birthday! I'm sorry... I forgot to buy you a present..." exclaimed Rikuo, snapping his eyes open and meeting her eyes.

"Ahahaha! You really are still a child aren't you? Its been two year since then, and you're still giving presents!" laughed Kana, hugging his arm. "Well, as a present... maybe... you could... spend some time with me? Alone?"

Rikuo's face flushed red for it was the first time she had said anything directly like this before. His only relpy was "Ehh..."Rikuo gave her a fake laugh, not knowing what to say.

"Will you Rikuo?" pleaded Kana, "I-I always wanted to tell you, but I could never actually make myself do so..."

Hearing the light giggles of Torii and Maki from the seat behind them, Rikuo flushed and replied . "F-Fine... Yes... just next time... please make sure that no one's listening before you speak..."

Kana's face turned cherry-red in embarrassment. She quickly avoided eye contact with Rikuo, looking out the window, and slid her elbow off the armrest.

(o.0)L0L(0.o)

Tsurara grinned at the cold slight of the window, staring out to the countryside. Although the train moved too fast, she was still able to catch a blurry glimpse of the farm animals that roamed freely about, inspecting the snow that had just fallen. The sight cheered her up, for she knew that she had brought winter for this year. She sighed, fogging up the window with her breath. Raising a hand, she drew her finger across the fogged window drawing a heart. withing the heart, she wrote Shadow and ice. A hand tapped her shoulder. Tsurara spun around with a gasp, to be greeted by Shima's smiling face. "Wah! Shima-kun! You scared me half to death there!" exclaimed Tsurara , blushing and quickly erasing what she drew with a quick wipe of her hand.

"Ehh... Sorry Oikawa-san. Y-You seemed a bit lonely, so I though that you might have wanted someone to accompany you." replied Shima, backing up and taking a seat. "Well... there was something that... I want to ask you... Will you-"

"Uh... sorry I gotta go to the bathroom!" exclaimed Tsurara, taking off towards the front of the train.

"Wait!" exclaimed Shima, taken aback by the sudden excuse. Shima stood up and walked after her.

Tsurara shuffled towards the bathroom quickly in attempt to avoid Shima's question, for she had a pretty good idea what it was. Although Tsurara didn't hate Shima, she certainly didn't love him either. But still, she wanted to avoid the question for it would make things complicated. She stood by the bathroom, and looked back down the alleyway to see if Shima followed her. To her satisfaction, she didn't see Shima behind her- correction, she didn't see **anyone** behind her. She panicked, trying to shake her head to see if it was just her eyes deceiving her. A arm wrapped itself around Tsurara's neck, holding her in a choke hold.

"Oh? What do we have here? Am I seeing this right?" exclaimed a deep voice. "A goddess? BWAHAHAHA! I never knew that a goddess would like you?!" the voice laughed, echoing loudly thought the train. "Although I have no interest in kidnapping little girls... it is my job to capture the goddess. HEH! You look pretty cute! I'll be a little less rough on you then!" Tsurara's captor held her there waiting for her to become silent, and patting her head as if she was a doll. Tsurara struggled to regain her breath, clawing at the arm that held her vision went blurry and she blacked out.

Shima walked forward, following Tsurara. Upon opening the door of the door of the sixth car, peering through the window he saw a large, bulky, bald man carrying a unconscious Tsurara over his shoulder. His eyes went wide. Shima stood there for a few moments, calculating the possibility of the events. Soon enough he turned around and sprinted back to the eighth car.

Rikuo was talking to Kana about the past, when Shima suddenly appeared out of nowhere blabbering something about "Oikawa-san, in trouble! SDFGHdhueg!"(Not literally... but you get what I mean.) Shima pulled Rikuo's arm and pointed towards the direction of the sixth car.

"Wait... what are you saying?" asked Kana with a quizzical expression, rising out of her seat. "Something about Oikawa-san being in trouble?"

"We don't have much time! just follow me!" cried Shima, dragging Rikuo behind him at a sprinting pace. "Well... I think I scared Oikawa-san by accident or something... and she ran off! I followed her and I saw this bald hulk dude kidnapping her!" Shima explained on the way.

They ran towards the front of the train in attempt to catch up to Tsurara and the stranger. Opening the door of the sixth car and entering, the bathroom door flew open. A sudden hand flew towards Rikuo, grabbing his shirt, lifting him up. Sure enough, Rikuo knew something was really wrong, for they were encountered with another stranger. The stranger lifted his shady madras hat, revealing his spiky gray hair. He lifted his head and stared at Rikuo with lazy, yet electric amber eyes that seemed to pierce then slither towards the back of your skull. The most noticeable feature was his sick, reaping scar that ripped across his entire face.

"Hmmm? What do we have here?... oh... trying to rescue your friend? Well... I'm sorry, I can't let you humans interfere with us." laughed the hunchback stranger. Rikuo only gave him a cold glare. "Ahhh... You know you can turn around and go sit down right?" he suggested with a yawn, putting Rikuo down, and turning took that very moment to kick the man, but his foot was caught midair by the stranger with his back still turned on Rikuo. "Whoops... I caught the little yokai's foot... I mistook you for a human... how foolish!" releasing Rikuo's foot. "Well then I must introduce myself as a code of honor before we fight... I am Gengjitsuke no Inagaki the Fourth Wonder of the Other World and the slave of faithful servant of Unmei... You can just all me Inaga-tono... Heh! -Sama would fit me too... Its your choice!" said Inagaki with a smile.

"Shima and Kana... stay back!" commanded Rikuo, readying himself for a fight. "Code of honor you say? I am Nura Rikuo, grandson of Nuraihyon."

"Oh?! Your ready to fight me with your fists?... how stupid are you? Hahaha! As for your comrades... I will honor my opponent and bring no harm to them." laughed Inagaki. "Here take my sword!" tossing Rikuo a small wooden katana. "Oh? you prefer another katana? Well... that's too bad. I'm not a weapons dealer." he joked, pulling out a giant Popsicle-stick-shaped stone tablet. The stone tablet seemed normal except for the fact that characters were engraved on it. 希望運命と運命 (Hope, Fate, and Destiny.

_"I really dislike talkative opponents..." _complained his night-self. _"Leave this to me... I have a bad feeling about this." _Rikuo's body slowly dissipated from sight, replacing the day Rikuo with his night personality. "Yo."

"Heh? You seem a lot taller! Wow! That's miraculous! I wish I could do that!" complimented Inagaki, with a surprised yet taunting expression on his face. "Ho! I never expected such a great transformation from a beansprout like you!" he blabbered on, sticking his tongue out at him.

_"So much for code of honor..." _Rikuo thought, raising the wooden sword. Inagaki was about to say something else, but was cut off by Rikuo. "Damn you... will you please shut it?" he sighed. "Just get this over with!"

"Alright! Okie-Dokie! I think I bought enough time!" With a smile, he pulled his hat down, covering his eyes, and walked away. "Now go chase your damsel in distress! Heheheh! Your majesty! Chao, see you at the market! Rikuo-bō!" With a wave and a bow, he smashed the window next to him and jumped out.

The three of them just stood there with confused expressions on their faces. "W-well... what are we waiting for?" asked Shima, tugging once again on Rikuo's kimono.

"No... we shouldn't go after them... I don't think that they are on the train anymore." commented Rikuo.

"Hey! What are you guys doing? Why are you standing there as if someone died?" asked Maki, approaching them with a quizzical expression. "And why is Rikuo in his yokai form?"

"Maki-san... they took Oikawa-san!" pouted Shim with an angry expression.

"Wait... What do you mean? She got kidnapped? By who?" She asked, her expression becoming serious. "I bet this is going to get us involved with yokai affairs again... I still remember when we got attacked by yokai in the hot spring..."

"Two guys... One was a hunchback loud-mouth... We didn't see the other one." sighed Rikuo. "I have a feeling that they are headed towards our destination anyways... I think we may as well find her on the way there." commented Rikuo, "You guys go sit down... I can't let anyone see me as a yokai, so I'll be following the train." he sighed.

They obeyed, quickly returning to their seats within the eighth car.

_"Damn it Tsurara... what have you gotten yourself into this time?"_

_ Music ~~~ Music ~~~ Music ~~~ Music ~~~ Music ~~~ Death ~~~ Maiden ~~~ Find ~~~ My ~~~ Grave ~~~ Music ~~~ Music ~~~ Music ~~~ Music ~~~ Music _

At their hotel_  
_

Rikuo sat cross-legged on the wooden porch staring at the serene night sky looking for stars, but was unable to find any. He sighed, remembering what he had said to Tsurara that night. _"Stupid me."_ He thought, lowering his gaze to the frosted garden. _"I have already found my beauty? What the hell was I thinking..." _Sighing, Rikuo took a handful of snow forming a small ball. Not knowing what to do with it, he lowered it gently onto the ground. _"No damn Sakura tree... I feel really out of place... No... not just the tree. The one who is always by my side... Gah! Damn it! I should have went after that guy!" _Frustrated with himself, he pounded his fist against the wooden floor, resulting in a quite thud. Remembering how Tsurara would always stay by his side when he perched on his favored branch, sitting by the trunk of the tree.

He stood up and placed his naked foot onto the snow covered ground of the garden, flinching at how cold it was. Although the cold pained Rikuo, he didn't mind, for he felt it. He felt the presence of the one he was so close to within the snow. His feet slowly started to burn from the touch of the snow, but he remained where he was. If it were a trade of pain for the presence of the one he felt comfortable beside, he would take it. He was once again reminded of what pained him the most to lose. Soon he could no longer feel pain in his feet, no... he couldn't feel his feel. Although Rikuo knew he had best take his feet out instantly, he only laughed at the feeling and continued to stand there.

The slight sound of the wooden door sliding behind him met his ears. He ignored it, fully knowing that it was Kana. _"Damn it all... I hate putting those I love in pain... Worse... I hate lying to them." _he thought, falling to his knees for he could no longer feel his feet.

"Rikuo? W-what are you doing?! Why are you up so late?" she asked, rubbing her tired eyes. "AH! You shouldn't stand in the snow with those kind of clothes!"  
Noticing that Rikuo only wore a thin blue Kimono.

Rikuo sighed, attempting to get on his feet again, but was unable to stand. Kana took off her slippers and joined him. The sound of the soft snow crunching beneath her feet rang in his ears. Kana approached Rikuo, pulling him up and leading him towards the porch. "I'm a fool aren't I?" he laughed quietly. "Forcing my friends to help me in something I offhandedly committed by myself..."

"Huh? Yah! Your feet are bleeding! What were you doing?!" exclaimed Kana, helping him crawl onto the wooden floor. Once on the wooden surface, she gently let Rikuo lie down.

"I'm fine." he said, but in truth he felt hideous. He felt like a crawling piece of shit that was nothing without the thing that was closest to him. Looking back, he remembered that the last time where he had lost Tsurara was when Tsumoguchi held her captive. Ever since then, they have been getting closer and closer to each other. Rikuo's line of thought was Kana's soft sleepy voice.

"I-I'll go to the reception desk to ask for some bandages... Wait here..." said Kana, staring at his feet with an uncertain expression.

Rikuo watched her rise slowly and turn her back on him, quickly walking to get some bandages for him. "Wait. Stay..." he commanded, looking down towards his feet. " I don't think I need any bandages for this... there's not that much blood..."

Kana paused, looked back, and looked at him. "Well... I-I'll get some hot tea for us then..." entering the hotel once again.

Rikuo lay down and looked up into the sky again in search of stars again. This time, the sky was full of small white stars, no... it was just the snow drifting down peaceful again. He yawned and closed his eyes, letting the cold windy breezes flow over him. It seemed like forever before Kana finally returned. Rikuo lay there without any reaction, listening to Kana's footsteps join him. A slight tapping sound came from the tea-tray being placed on the wooden floor. He opened a single eye to see Kana's smiling face above him. A small laugh escaped her.

"What's so funny?" Rikuo asked, revealing his other deep red pool.

Kana giggled a bit more then sighed, "You look so... relaxed when you close your eyes... its kinda... cute."

_"Don't you be thinking me as cute..." _:/ thought Rikuo, sitting up and pouring tea for both Kana and himself. "What made you stay up?" asked Rikuo, taking a sip of his tea.

"Ehhh... I just couldn't get myself to sleep. No actual reason I suppose... More importantly... what made you stay up? And why were you standing barefoot in snow?" replied Kana, staring at him with her hazel eyes. "Is it something to do with... Oikawa-san?"

Rikuo paused briefly at the question, "I-I... I don't actually know what I was doing... I just feel so out of place with everything missing from what I'm used to..." Rikuo took another sip of his tea, thinking about if he should answer the last question. "No. It's not about her." he lied. _"Damn... I just lied again." __  
_

Kana studied his face for a moment. Content with what she saw she moved on. "You seem so lonely... so I thought that I would join you... She means a lot to you doesn't she?"

Rikuo flinched at the question, "I thought we dropped that subject... Well, yes she means a lot to me... why do you ask?"

"You always seem to be at her side no matter what... She is quite something eh?" Kana asked.

"Mmmm... yeah... she is quite something..." answered Rikuo, standing up, finishing his tea in a single go. "I'm going to get some rest." With a wave of his hand he left for his room, leaving Kana alone.

* * *

Tsurara awoke, sitting up and rubbing her tired eyes. Her back ached from sleeping on the hard surface of the stone floor. She looked around in realization, looking around. The room was somewhat luxurious. Although very well furnished, the room lacked of smooth walls and a nice wooden floor. In other words... a well furnished door-less prison cell with a single window. Tsurara got up, for the first time noticing that she was no longer wearing usual white Kimono and her scarf was gone. She was now wearing a loose black dress that left her shoulders entirely uncovered and a translucent glove that went to her elbow on her right hand. She felt naked in the clothes she was wearing, for she was used to wearing tight kimono that covered her whole body, but the thing that bothered her most was that she no longer had a soft scarf warming her neck. She lifted a hand, feeling her neck. It felt queer, for she had never really touched her bare neck much before, or even thought about it. She looked down at her feet, to her relief, they were bare and untouched by uncomfortable clothes. She then walked towards the window, still touching her bare neck, and placed her other hand on the curtain-covered window. No... there was no window. Her gloved hand reached through the window, as if it weren't there.

"My oh my... Seems like the princess found out about our little trick" laughed the familiar voice of her captor. " Now... if you would just quietly stay in your pen like a nice little dog... then, maybe I'll give you a short breather of fresh air soon!" Her hand was then pushed back with an unquestionably strong force. " Just stay here for now. Your meal will be here soon. Oh! I heard you liked to eat your food frozen!" he teased, poking his face through the window, giving Tsurara a massively mad grin. She had an unsightly face. The left quarter of his head was shriveled and dead looking, it consisted of many blisters, scabs, and crumpled dry skin than hang about. The fact that he was bald only made it worse, for the dead skin showed all the way.

"Where am I anyways?" asked Tsurara, unusually calm. "And why am I greeted by such an unsightly face?" she demanded, glaring at him. She instantly noticed that Fuyu had taken full control her actions.

"Ho! We really captured a rebel this time! How about you shut up?" he growled, showing that he was somewhat angered by her previous comment. "Next time you say something like that... I won't allow you to eat for day"

"I asked... where am I..." she said coldly, raising her hand slowly. "The next time you don't answer me... you won't have a face. Also.. why am I here?"

"Where you are? Ha! Figure it out yourself! As for why your here? I have no idea... I only got hired to capture... you and wait t'ill they come to take you away. A goddess? I still remember those words on the contract. Do not underestimate her! Like you could do any damn harm to me! Last time, you couldn't even scratch me." he laughed, sticking his tongue out at Tsurara. Suddenly, his eyes widened, staring at her. Tsurara wondered what he had been surprised by. "T-That fear... y-you are... related to Reira? That... thing gave me these scars." he growled, anger flaring to his eyes. "TELL ME!"

"Oh? Reira? My dear Yuki onna? Yes, she's related to me... she's one of my descendants." Tsurara sighed, lowering her hand towards the mans face at a inhuman speed in the form of a slap. "Now... hide that disgraceful face of yours." pushing his stunned face back through the illusion window with her index finger.

"Gah! You BIT*H!" He screamed, taking a massive swing towards Tsurara. "I will send you to HELL!"

Tsurara instinctively stepped back, dodging the attack. _"Damn it girl! Fight! I can't control your body! I can only give you instincts and ideas! Just kill him already!" _Fuyu growled in her mind. "Take me over..." whispered Tsurara to herself, dodging another one of the man's punches. _"Hmmm? Oh! giving me permission? Well then... I shall... but only for a short while, for I'm still not used to your body." _A sudden freezing feeling slowly flowed through her veins, as the goddess took control of her movements. " Now... it's all over... Simply... forgotten... forgotten... how to... make others... disappear." she said, in a trance like tone. Her body moved at her own record, moving faster than she could have ever imagined. She caught the next punch of the man with ease, giving out a smile of pleasure. " Your hands have become... weaker. Why is that?" she questioned slyly, holding his fist within her palm. Within three seconds, his hand was ripped apart into shreds of bone and meat by deathly blood-covered shards of ice that tore through his hand, protruding from his palm.

The man screamed, falling to the ground in agony, clutching his wrist and what strips of flesh that remained. Tsurara instantly felt guilty for what she had just done, yet she, for some reason, felt angry towards him. Control slowly returned to her, allowing her to move at her own accord again. "Wah! S-sorry!... I-I didn't know that it would turn out like this..." she said, giving him a sympathetic look. She then ran past him, through the window without a single glance back, leaving him to writhe on the ground in pain. She was finally free from her prison. She looked around, taking off her blood stained glove and changing into her human form. She soon figured out where she was. It was a long road with a surprising large number of people setting up stalls for the night. The night market.

Tsurara wandered around examining things as she went by, not knowing where to go. _"Wah! I'm totally lost this time! I don't know my way around! Everyone else is also probably looking for me!" _she thought to herself. She walked up to an old man setting up a stall. "Excuse me sir... um, would you mind telling me where I am?" she asked, embarrassed.

"Hmmm? Oh! You are currently standing in the annual night market. As of now, its currently being set up as you can see." replied the geezer, turning around. "Woah! How did a cute thing like you get lost? You must have a lot of boys seeking after your love! Am I right?" he chuckled, turning back to work on setting up his stall.

Tsurara flushed at the comment, "Wah! N-no! My life isn't like that! I don't get chased around by boys!" She sighed and walked away with a slight blush, holding her hands together by her chest. _"More like... I chase a single boy..." _she thought to herself, leaning against a wall to her left. "Well... all I have to do is wait until master arrives I suppose."

* * *

Rikuo sat on his Tatami with a bored expression, inspecting his foot. It looked quite disgusting in his opinion. He thought back to last night when he stood bare-footed in the snow. Thinking about it right now, nothing much came to him mind, except for the fact that he did it so that he could feel Tsurara's presence within the snow. He sighed, getting up and testing his feet out. They were fine, it only felt a bit stiff.

"Hey Rikuo! We're going to the night market now, since its eight' O clock!" announced Shima in a rather excited tone. "We might even meet Oikawa-san there!"

He sighed and walked over to him, giving Shima a look of uncertainty. "Yeah... lets go." he replied, exiting the room. He was then greeted by the happy faces of his friends.

"Hey? Why are you looking so depressed today?" questioned Soari, leaning forwards and pointing a finger at him. "Just because Oikawa-san is not with us right now, doesn't mean you have to be all depressed! I mean, yeah we're worried, but not depressed!"

"Oh! Eheheheheheh! I-I wasn't depressed! I was just thinking about something!" Rikuo quickly replied with a fake laugh. _"So... this is how I act like when I'm not by my trusted aide?" _He thought to himself, with a silent laugh. _"I should really stop thinking about her now..."__  
_

"Oh? Really? Then why did that expression on your face seem so fake?" retorted Kana with an uninterested expression.

"Are we going to stand here and wait for this conversation last forever?" asked Kiyotsugu impatiently, hastefully (Yeah I just made up a word) walking out the door.

Torii looked at Soari and shrugged, following Kiyotsugu. The rest of them soon followed him out the door.

After arrival to the night market :3

Upon arrival, they could tell that it would be extremely easy to get lost within the crowed, which oddly consisted mainly of young adults. Rikuo flinched as Kana's hand suddenly touched his, holding it.

"I think its best we stay together." explained Kana, happily holding on to Rikuo's hand. "Hey look Takoyaki! Lets get some!" she exclaimed pointing towards a stall. She ran off towards the stall dragging Rikuo with her. ]

"How many would you like?" The manager asked, stroking his beard, staring intently at Rikuo. "Hmmm? I have a feeling... that I've seen you before..."

"No? I don't think we've met you before... two servings please." replied Rikuo, looking past the man. Sure enough there was Tsurara, sitting in an alley with her back to the wall. "Huh? Tsurara!" He called out surprised, passing the stall.

She turned her head in surprise, getting up and hurring towards them."Wah! Waka! I knew you would come to the night market!"

**And so... they went through the market having a blast. Well... Rikuo wasn't, for he was being ripped apart by Tsurara and Kana. :/ AND YES! THEY SOMEHOW GOT THEIR HANDS ON POCKY STICKS... and Kana decided to stab Tsurara in the eyes with dem. :P **(Just fooling around...)

Rikuo walked through the crowded market with... a lady in each hand, having a great time. They shuffled through the crowed like a school of fish, finding their way to one stall after another. A sudden motion swept at Rikuo, forcing him to step back. He looked around, confused at what he had just dodged.

"Huh? Whats wrong?" asked Kana, looking at Rikuo and holding his hand even tighter. Her question was soon answered by another swing. This time, it hit hit Rikuo square in the head. He stumbled, his vision turned blurry from the hard hit, and was soon brought to the ground with another crowd around him suddenly gasped and quickly scrambled away, slowly revealing a man as if it were a curtain. Inagaki.

"Yo! Long time no see!" he laughed, leaning on his stone tablet. "Wow... you seem so frail today... Did you suddenly age? You couldn't even sense my presence... Even if I tried hiding it. Or is it that your human self can only do so much?" Inagaki pelted Rikuo with questions, being annoying as ever. "HO! The goddess is looking cute today!" he commented, staring at her. Tsurara only glared back at him without a reply. "Yikes! That legendary cold stare... doesn't work with cute face at all!"

"Shut up!" Fuyu growled.(for her) Tsurara stood there not knowing what to do, for she couldn't reveal her yokai form to everyone standing around her, nor could she ever create a single thing out of ice. Rikuo stepped forward, blocking Tsurara from Inagaki. "Wah! Rikuo-sama?! W-what are you doing?!" she exclaimed, stepping once again in front of Rikuo.

"Oh? What do we have here? An overprotective couple?" asked Inagaki. "Its not every time that I can fight cute couples!" he smiled, advancing forwards. " Don't worry... I'm only going to silence one of you. Your girl will live on!... well for the time being."Rikuo gave him his intense gaze and unsheathed his katana, ready to fight. Rikuo pushed past Tsurara and made his first attack at Inagaki, creating a small dust cloud in the process. His blade hit something solid, but stayed there. The dust receded revealing Inagaki with the blade in his mouth. "Roses are much more of an idea to hold within one's mouth in a relationship... but this shall do. Roses prick at others in love, while blades pierce the hearts of those you love. So... I'll be taking this for now." he commented, ripping the katana from his grip and dropping his stone tablet.

"A-A monster and a possessed child!" someone from the crowd yelled. Hell broke loose. Everyone in the crowd screamed and ran for cover. Inagaki grabbed the katan, flipping it around so that he held the blade, surprising Rikuo for a moment. He swung the katana at Rikuo. It seemed to be in slow motion for Tsurara as the handle of the katana slowly embed itself into her master's stomach. Blood sprayed across the street floor as Rikuo fell. Kana screamed, running to Rikuo's fallen body. Tsurara remained silent, remained where she stood with her head hung low she glared at the blood on the street floor. A surge of anger hit her, but it wasn't just any type of normal anger. Unlike fiery rage, it was cold, the cold of hatred.

"Wow! A single hit and he's still not dead! A new record for my opponents... well my dead ones." teased Inagaki, pointing at Tsurara, "Come with me now! Isn't is obvious that you're no match for me? That glare of yours won't help you much either in a battle! Eh? So your going to resist? Well then, I don't have much time to play with you either." he sighed, picking up his stone tablet.

"I-I... swear. I will taint the sky crimson red with your blood." Tsurara murmured with a deathly cold edge to her voice. She felt her anger slowly crawl through her body; it blazed through her fiercely, raging to escape.

"Ha? Well I don't even think that you can move since you're trying so hard to contain that anger?" laughed Inagaki, "And you still want to save your worthless bastard?"

That single flicker of flame crushed her inner containment. Her rage exploded, pouring out... a cold blue flame of anger. She felt herself get devoured by the madness; slowly it bit away at her, burning her from within. She desperately tried to hang on to her own sanity, but failed to resist. A overpowering cold aura enveloped the space around her. She looked up giving Inagaki a glare of blood lust. He flinched, looking away. Hungrily, the hollow part of her ebbed away at the side of her face, turning her once soft face into a demonic mask. Her eyes were now pitch black with a single white dot in the center of her orbs as blood dripped from her right eye; her hair was now the purest white, and a mask of ice formed over her left side of her face.

Where ever she stepped seemed to trail frost behind her, in fact, ice seemed to slowly spread outwards, covering both humans and buildings alike. Although she no longer felt like herself, it was like in her dreams where she was within Fuyu's mind. She advanced towards Inagaki, her glare not wavering. "To hell... with you." She whispered, morphing a icy sphere prison around Inagaki trapping him. "I keep my promises... I will taint the sky with you blood." The sphere slowly rose into the air. Dozens of ice spikes soon followed levitating from the ground, and sped towards the sphere, piercing the both the hollow ice shell and Inagaki's body with it. His blood sprayed across the sky, tainting the sky red. It rained blood.

Although she killed Inagaki, Tsurara was still not able to quench her thirst for blood. Slowly her consciousness slipped away, as her body moved on its own accord. She was barely conscious, as she watched herself massacre people at her body's own will. She did not resist, she did not waver, nor did she feel anything. She was simply a soul within an unfamiliar body. Soon enough, her mind slipped away.

"Sorry sister, but I can't let you kill this Buffon yet."

* * *

_"Fuyu... open your eye for both you and I. Soon the world will open wide. Learn to understand what you see, and someday we will paint the sky together." he smiled._ _"Look into my eye. __Eyes, are the window to our souls._ Eyes, oh you will see, that there is no surprise. Eyes, because love is plain to see." Fuyu rest her head peacefully on his lap, looking up into his eyes. The world spun around her.

* * *

Tsurara awoke, feeling dizzy and extremely tired. She slowly opened her eyes, to see the yokai Rikuo's gaze on her face. Instantly, she noticed that her head lay on his lap. "Waka? Worry... pain... affection." she sighed, peering into his eyes.

"Hmmm? What do you mean?" he asked with a somewhat surprised.

"Your eyes... its easy to read yours."

"Tsurara... w-what are you talking about?" Rikuo stammered, confused. Tsurara gave a faint giggle, sitting up. "It feels so harsh when your feeling down. Just look up, pick yourself off the ground. You don't need to think of anything else." said Rikuo, pulling Tsurara towards him and cradling her head within his arms. "Just... don't let yourself go, to that place, you can't find... Stay with me."

Tsurara was shocked at the words he had just spoke. "S-stay with me?" she asked, blushing lightly. "W-wait... where are we? What happened when I was..."

Rikuo put a finger to her lips silencing her. "We're at the hotel we said we were going to stay at." he replied, staring at Tsurara's face, refusing to answer the second question.

"Just tell me... what happened the last time I was awake?" she commanded, searching into Rikuo's deep red pools for the truth. "I have a feeling that... I already know... but I want to confirm it." Tsurara's expression turned dead serious.

"Well... its been three days since you last were awake. Its been all over the news... some ice yokai terrorized and massacred people in the night market."

"How many casualties were there? How are the others!" she demanded, her face turning pale with fear for what she had done.

" Only seventeen... Our friends are all okay, they're all sleeping now. Well, Shima got a nasty frost burn."

Tsurara sat up, staring emotionless at the blank wall. A single tear rolled down her cheek as guilt slowly weaved its way into her mind. "I-"

"Shhh." interrupted Rikuo, wrapping his hands around her, allowing her to bury herself in his chest. "It's okay... **Everything will be fine.**"

* * *

Yeah I have a question for you readers! What would you like more of in this story? Or what would you like me to add? Just in general, like romance, comedy, etc.

I'm really sorry guys! This chapter might not be as good as I wanted it! I had to rush it out before my flight to somewhere!  
Please follow and review as always!  
Thanks again to everyone's help! People= my fuel!  
:3 Hope you enjoyed... bloody as heck... but oh well. Boys enjoy that type of thing.  
Thank the electronic music for me too. :/  
Please excuse my OOC I haven't read Nurahyon no mago in ages :/ I don't really remember their personalities. :/

I won't be updating as much as usual now cause of school :/ Well. I hope you enjoyed your summer.


	6. Doll of dreams

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Nurarihyon no mago

Thanks for everyone's support so far! Thank music too for this story, cause it got me pumped enough to write all this! :P  
Hope you have enjoyed reading the story so far!  
I will keep on updating it! Till the end I promise!_  
Italics are thoughts!  
_Sorry about the last chapter being a bit rushed :/ I just really wanted to get it out and out of the way! :/ Forgive me.  
Hmmm... should I start with memories or just normal stuff? I always ask myself that question. Please tell me what you guys would rather choose.  
I really don't know where I'm going with this story yet :/ It really is just a writing exercise. Please bear with me.  
My last chapter was trash... I feel like restarting it, but oh well I'm too lazy. I even spelt some names wrong... shame on me.

**_Important: _**A lot of people are really confused about the story in general. I will give it my best shot to clear it up as the story goes on. I will try to fix the OOC too; it might seem a bit weird with the sudden change of character though. (Yeah I went back and reread the whole Manga.)

* * *

You might want to skip this. (Horror)

Torii's nightmare (Based on a real one I had lately... it was freaking scary.)

It was a casual night day, she was on Maki's convertible car, driving back from shopping. They talked to each other happily about the things they did at the mall. They sped about on the highway enjoying themselves. Soon they drove into a tunnel. Their speech was soon interrupted by a soft thud that came from the front of the car. Maki instantly hit the brakes and got off to inspect what they hit. Maki gasped at the trail of blood that led under the car. She looked under, to see a corpse of a little girl.

"Oh my god... Maki... we should really call a ambulance or something." said Torri, staring at the corpse.

Maki's face turned pale, she took Torri's hand and pulled her back on the car again. "I-I... Lets go Torri... She's already dead." They continued on their car ride home in silence. It seemed as if every single small movement made her react. "Lets just forget that that happened Torri... Please... I'm begging you, never tell anyone about this." she said quietly.

Torri didn't answer. She just sat in the seat beside her best friend with a pale and sick looking face, looking outwards. Maki's hand gently touched her looked towards Maki... no... it wasn't Maki's hand. The hand extended from the back seat. Torri refused to turn or scream. She just sat there quietly with the bloodied hand on her shoulder. "W-why? Why did you let me die? Why didn't you call the ambulance?"

"Torri? Don't try to scare me with that voice... its creepy... we're in a serious situation right now." she sighed, not looking back.

Finally Torri looked to be was greeted by a grotesque sight. It was a little girl with a bloodied and deformed face with black tire tracks that covered it.

Torri screamed and sat up looking around her. She sighed at what she saw, her hotel room. "It was only a nightmare... just a nightmare." She soon lay back down and closed her eyes and attempted to sleep again.

* * *

Late at night

Tsurara sat on the wooden porch enjoying the cold winter wind and looked at the hotel's garden. Although mostly everything was covered in a thin layer snow, it had a lot more plant and flowers that the Nura household lacked, but it missed something essential. A sakura tree. It seemed so queer to her not to see a sakura tree in a garden, since she grew up in the Nura household, that was located in a modern day city, and had never seen much of what other households would look like. She slowly padded into the garden, making a soft crunch for every step she took. She smiled cheerfully at the presence of winter which she loved so much. Kneeling, she scooped a handful of snow and happily patted it into a small ball, feeling the cold touch of the snow as it melted within her hand. She breathed out, closing her eyes and simply allowed the light winter breeze engulf her. She stood there for quite some time, the snow tapping lightly and resting upon her hair and Kimono.

She giggled, finally shaking off the snow on her and walked back to the porch. This was something she had really missed. The peaceful winter nights. She sat down once again on the wooden surface, giving little puffs of excitement for her favorite season. She stayed there, slowly feeling herself drift away and succumb to her tiredness. The sound of a sliding door alerted Tsurara, instantly she snapped up.

"Oi? Stealing my seat?" Rikuo teased, joining her side. "Why are you up so late?"

"Wah?... R-Rikuo-sama... I-I was just looking at the garden." she replied with a cheery, yet tired expression. "W-why are you up so late?" she replied, repeating his question with a yawn.

"Hmmm? You seemed to be lonely so I thought I'd join you. You seem really tired too. Shouldn't you be in bed? "Asked Rikuo, looking coolly out towards the frosted garden. "Or is winter more important than getting some rest?"

Tsurara blushed at the comment. "Y-yeah... maybe it is too important to me." she said, giggling lightly. She smiled and stretched out her hand, catching a single snow flake on her fingertip. "Isn't it amazing?"

"Hmmm? Yeah... it is pretty amazing." Rikuo chuckled, gazing at the light snow drift. "I always thought that snowflakes always looked like miniature falling stars."

Tsurara gave him a quizzical look, shaking off the little droplet of melted water. "Miniature falling stars? I think of stars as snowflakes that float in the sky."

Rikuo laughed, looking back into her eyes. His hand slid towards the right, slightly touching Tsurara's hand without noticing. They she flinched, pulling her hand back in surprise. She flushed, looking down at her master's hand. " W-wah! I didn't mean it that way!" She didn't want to insult him by seeming as if she didn't trust his touch. Rikuo only stared at her wondering what she was talking about with a quizzical expression.

She laughed at his expression and yawned again, closing her eyes, allowing her tiredness to get the best of her. Slowly, she leaned towards Rikuo, looking out into the garden and resting her head on his shoulder.

"Oi! Tsurara!" he exclaimed, surprised. "What are you do-... oh..." Rikuo turned his head and sighed, seeing the snow maiden asleep against him. His surprised expression slowly turned into a smile.

Kana stopped, stood there, and watched the silhouettes of Rikuo and Tsurara sitting closely, her face flushing with both jealousy and embarrassment. Her chest hurt at the sight of Rikuo being beside someone other than herself, it hurt too much more than it should have. She turned around and headed back towards her bedroom with haste, her heart beating frivolously. She lay back down on her tatami in attempt to shake off her feelings with sleep. Unable to sleep or shake off her feelings, she just lay there feeling horrible for the whole night. It wasn't jealousy or anger she felt this time. This time it was the feeling of despair, despair from losing Rikuo to Tsurara. A black stain on her heart it was, ebbing away at her every time her heart beat.

She laughed at how fate had pushed him away from her, but still she knew that she would always keep on pursuing the desire for him. An endless void of unchangeable fate it was, how sad that fate had lay out such horrible plans for her. She sat up, hugging her knees and stared at the wall blankly, awaiting her hate, no longer just jealousy or anger, but hate for Tsurara, to blacken the rest of her mind. She felt evil allowing her feelings to go in such a direction, but she no longer cared. She knew that her very traits were changing before her, responding to her black emotions. For the first time in her life, she was scared of herself, scared of the suddenly overpowering hatred that had entered her. Anyone would have known it was unnatural. She knew, something was play with her. Someone was pulling her strings.

A welcoming, yet repulsive aura, one that resembled both a nightmare and a pleasant dream, drew closer to her. Her head screamed at her to run, but her body remained where it was, no moving even a tad bit. She sat on her tatami hugging her knees with a bored expression, which entirely belied her current state of mind, feeling hopelessness and panic surge through her mind. A sudden dim light flickered, barely pushing away the darkness, and with it revealed a shadowy silhouette. What Kana saw was only a glimpse at the figure from the corner of her eye, her reaction was to turn her head and get up, but her body betrayed her, remaining still and uncontrolled.

The door slid open and the figure entered the room, walked towards her, and knelled beside her. She was a small girl, looking about Kana's age, with intense eyes of orange and raven-black hair. The figure examined Kana with a slight tilt to her head, then laughed. "You'll be my next toy!" The girl got up, patting Kana's head and left the room without another glance back. Kana's mobility returned and she stared quizzically at the open doorway.

* * *

Sorry for the sudden stop, but I'm going to discontinue this story and start fresh with something better.

I might recontinue it like in a year or something, but for now I'll put it to a stop.


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